One-stop shop for online business registration to help entrepreneurs worldwide formalize their business.

An online system that lists online business registration systems by country, in an effort to provide entrepreneurs worldwide with a one-stop-shop for online registration and information regarding business registration processes, was launched by UNCTAD and Global Entrepreneurship Week during the World Investment Forum in Geneva.

“New firm formation is the primary driver of long-term economic growth – as well as innovation and wealth creation in all types of economies,” Jonathan Ortmans, president of Global Entrepreneurship Week, said. “As entrepreneurial ecosystems develop around the world, it will be those that simplify the process for entrepreneurs to start and scale their enterprises that are the most successful.”

Registering a business can be a very long and cumbersome process, involving multiple government agencies, and often too complex for many entrepreneurs. As a result, in developing countries, more than half of the population works in the informal sector.

Ideally, most businesses should be registered simultaneously with all government agencies in a few minutes, with only one form and one payment.

The Global Enterprise Registration (GER) portal (www.globalereg.co) represents a concrete contribution towards simplifying business registration. GER allows entrepreneurs to provide comments and feedback on the registration procedures, enabling governments to improve their processes. The portal also allows governments to share solutions and best practices among themselves.

“This portal will spur a race to simplicity among governments to make the business registration process as easy as possible,” Kurt Tong, United States Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, said. “It provides a list of economies that have taken steps towards simplifying business registration. More importantly, it’s a one-stop-shop to help entrepreneurs start businesses legally anywhere in the world.”